Merenaz Caliphate/ Mille Sessau

Ever since the formation of the great continents of the world, the central desert has always been the bane of many civilization, claiming them beneath the scorching barren desert. Some would simply died out, unable to tame the inhospitable element while others were simply claimed by the desert and disappear into obscurity, never to be heard again in the annals of history. Yet, for all the ugly reputation of the desert, it also yields many resources, hidden and apparent that would make a nation, who could conquer it's inhospitable climate, to become prosperous and powerful. So far in history, only one civilization was able to do it, the Aremians and they have built and mighty Caliphate and its scorching desert that ranges from the westernmost tip of the continent, all the way across the central desert virtually taming the great desert.

As such it didn't come as too much of a surprise for the Lady Iraa's entourage to make good speed along the vast desert. Previously, she had hired the help of a guide who had been guiding merchant caravans and armies his entire life and she had also heard that there were very few of such guides who knows their way past the Caliphate's border. They had discussion before setting out into the deep desert and it was then that she realizes that there's another empire that lies just to east of the caliphate's border. The guide was said to have described the nation as vast, wealthy and powerful, a nation worthy to become an ally of the Merenaz Caliphate she thought and most importantly, if she is atleast able to persuade the sovereign of this nation to trade with his brother's nation, she would have made a name for herself.

Lady Iraa's entourage has reached the edge of the desert in just 3 weeks time, normally it would've taken much longer to travel across the Great Central Desert especially due to heat factor and the absence of any real road or path, but she had chosen her guide wisely and the guide had thus far delivered. The 50 men entourage stops as they got past a dune, 30 of them are military personnel in charge of the protection of Lady Iraa while the other twenty are her handmaidens and scribes. For practical purposes, she only rode upon a steed instead of a carriage as she usually does when traveling between cities and so does all the members of her entourage. Directly in front of them lies a mountain range that separates the desert and the green pasture ahead.

"Tell me, what lies beyond that mountain range?", Lady Iraa asked as she turns to the guide rising beside her. The guide is a man in his forties, and his rugged and weary features of his face and the unkempt facial hair suggested that he rarely ever goes home and would spend months serving as guide for all manner of entourages.

"The empire that I told you about, m'lady", the guide responded.

"Mille-Sessau?", the words did not rolled out correctly from her tongue, it was a bit more difficult to imitate the pronunciation from the guide as it seems he might have had dealings with the people of this empire before, he might have even stayed in their land for some time. The guide simply did not care to correct his mistress's pronunciation and simply nodded.

"Good, then you must know of their customs and all, I shall have to rely on you to communicate on our behalf then", she said and the guide bowed in compliance.

* * *

It took them another 3 days before the entourage of Lady Iraa finally emerge from the small pass across the mountain range and as they did, the party could clearly see smokes from chimneys and a couple of buildings in the distance. There's a village or a town nearby, possible owing its allegiance to this foreign empire Lady Iraa is meaning to go to. However, she wasn't so eager as to march of into the town like this, after all they are an armed party after all and the town looks to be defenseless except for what appears to may have been a military checkpoint or outpost nearby. She jumps off from her horse and she was followed by the rest of her entourage. The captain of the guard quickly came before her.

"M'lady?", he asked

"How do you think we should proceed about this? I have an entire company of armed elite guards as it is, don't you think they would see as as maybe hostiles?", she wisely decided to discuss the matter with the captain of the guard in case not to offend the locals. However, before the captain could respond to her question, the guide came and cut short their discussion.

"My lady, throughout my years of traveling amongst their people, they have been reasonable so far, suspicious perhaps but then again which nation in this world wouldn't be when they see foreigners come knocking on their doorstep", he said before slightly bowing, perhaps forgetting his station, "I would suggest we proceed as it is, your guards may keep their weapons but do not unsheathe them, the more we try to hide, the more it may seem suspicious to them"

lady Iraa ponders for a moment, but she believes the guide as amongst all the members of her entourage, it is the guide who has the most experience dealing with the people of Mille-Sessau. She immediately walked towards the town followed by the rest of her escorts. In an hour or so, they finally arrived upon the outskirts of the town where they must've been sighted by the town patrols nearby. The captain of the guard looked to Lady Iraa and she nodded in return. The captain understood it as his order and went to meet the nearest patrol at the outskirt of the village.

"Greetings and peace be unto you, my name is Hesheem, Captain of the guards protecting our lady here", he said with a low humble voice, "we are envoys of the neighboring nation seeking to finally opening up our doors to trade with your nation as such we would like to ask you if you would guide us to someone in authority to do so".

Val Avos was the self labeled Gem of the Empire, for right there on the cusp of the Great Desert and the Long Plains of Mille Sessau a handful of gem mines operated since the Golden Reign of the Empire. Things had recently changed however, as the mines had dried up and now the only source of rare stones were from Ezrian mines. Still, life in Val Avos' continued as usual, and the only defense was a single company of Sessauan Militia (Light Infantry). The soldiers patrolled in groups of four and five and it was one of these particular groups that ran into the travelers from the Great Desert.

Initially thought to be nothing but barbarians, isolated enounters with the People of the Desert had only slightly changed the Sessauans belief about those who called the desert their home. The guards intercepted them as they entered the village, and offering only a few garbled words to them, took them to the manor of the Count of Val Avos, also an inhabitant of the Royal Court. The manor was starkly different than the other hobbles and huts that marred the plains landscape. It sat atop a small hill, eclipsing the entire settlement of Val Avos like an impending boulder, ready to roll down and crush the town at any moment. Hesheem and his escort were led into a large room where a small fire billowed and an extremely elderly man sat in a nearby chair and read from a tome. One of the militiamen eased over and jostled him.

" Guests, hmm? " He pulled himself from his chair and stood. He was decorated in a fine fur coat and silk leggings with a distinctly pointed nose and thin white hair. " Ah, bonjour! I am Count Anju of Val Avos, Representative of the Empress of Mille Sessau and Van Sessau. And whom might you be, travelers? "

The rest of the entourage stayed behind, watching as the captain of the guard converse with the locals, after a few moments, the guide went to them possibly trying to aid in the discussion. If what the guide claims is true then the locals would trust him more than they would trust an armed group of envoys. Lady Iraa was wearing her silken grey robe covered by a brown desert cloak and hooded, being a high ranking officials of the Caliphate, she could afford to pamper herself with all manner of beautification. She had her eyes shaded with brown colored shades and purple colored blush at both sides of her cheek bones. Her brown eyes watch in anticipation as she awaits the captain of her guards.

After awhile, Captain Hesheem returns with the guide, he bowed his head slightly to his mistress and told her that the soldiers would guide them to the over imposing manor in the distance. She could already tell, as they make their way to the manor, that this residence must belonged to a rather high ranking officials of this empire, it might even be the governor of this town. The patrol soldiers of the town led them into the manor which was heavily guarded, strange even for a governor mansion but she followed nonetheless. Some of the soldiers offered to take their steeds to the nearest stable and Lady Iraa consented.

Inside is a manor worthy of a royalty and they were lead to a large room with an occupant in it, by the looks of it a rather elderly man who sits at the nearby and peacefully reading from one of the tome, no doubt his study of the tome would have to be disturbed with Lady Iraa's visit.

"Peace be unto you", Captain Hesheem replied to the count's greetings with their own customary greeting. "I am here as an escort party of my mistress, Lady Iraa", the captain steps aside where Lady Iraa emerge from the group of entourage and pulled back the hood revealing her face to the count.

"I am Lady Iraa, representative and an envoy of the Merenaz Caliphate, a desert nation that lies to the east of here", she said as she bowed slightly to the count. "I am here under the order of my brother, the current Grand Caliph and ruler of the Merenaz Caliphate to establish a diplomatic relation with your empire for we have been neighbors of centuries but it is now that the caliphate finally wishes to open its doors to the outside world".

" Indeed! " The Count of Val Avos seemed rejuvenated. Foreigners were not a genuine commodity in the Empire of Mille Sessau and so Count Anju was rather excited. " Well, the people of Mille Sessau welcome you! Hmm, I would ask of you than .. do you carry maps of your land? Unfortunately we have not explored the Great Desert and know nothing of it. In exchange, we can give you a map of our own kingdom and of the surrounding kigndoms we have come into contact with. "

Lady Iraa noded her head twice and turns to her back towards one of the scribes standing behind her, she gestured towards the scribe an he understood it enough to pull something from the leather bag starpped to his shoulder. "We did bring the map of the great desert with us, yes", she took the parchment of scroll from the scribe and went to the nearest table and unfurl the scroll revealing a detailed map of the central desert. Throughout the map, some regions of it is colored by a distinct brown dye to it.

"The brown shaded area are the territory of the Merenaz Caliphate, our nation and as you can see despite being a desert nation, we have founded many towns, settlements and cities for the inhabitants of our nation", afterwards, she pointed to right suggesting further east of the Caliphate where the borders are stretched to its limit, "As you can see your nation lies here, just next to ours actually", she said while carving a smile onto her face as she looked back to the baron.

"Trade between out two great nations would be lucrative mainly because of the proximity of our borders and please...", she said smirking as she was quite sure of what the baron might be thinking, "...do not think of the trade route in between our cities would be a hassle or even dangerous because of the desert terrain, since my brother took power, he has been improving paths across the desert, occasionally foreigners might need guides but I assure you, the merchants from your nation would be in capable hands". In truth however, foreigners would most likely rely on guides to cross the desert and while the guides can be very dependable, the caliphate stands to profit more from such bargain, she thought to herself as she awaits the baron's response.

Count Anju nodded to a nearby servant who disappeared for a map than returned with a handful of scrolls. They were localized and regional maps of the Empire of Mille Sessau. The largest of the maps was unfurled and displayed. " This is the Empire of Mille Sessau, and these unclaimed lands ; some desert, mostly plains are being claimed as we speak, though I am sure the Empress would concede some portions of it if you'd wish. " He pointed to the large area southeast of Merenaz and southwest of Mille Sessau.

" We are interested in beginning trade with your nation as soon as possible. We believe you may be interested in some fine Sessauan steeds, hmm? Best in the land! We also have furs as well that could compliment your people on cold, desert nights. What might you have to trade with us, Lady Iraa? "

"Ah, that would be very kind of you...", she replied to the baron previous statement that he is willing to persuade the empress, possibly the supreme ruler of this empire of theirs to concede a portion of the land to the southeast of Merenaz where the borders of the two nation seems to have overlapped over dual-claims, "...and you empress of course, but do send her my greetings and well-wishes if you would meet her, yes?". And so her attention turns towards the map where she studies the area where the baron had pointed out before. Truth be told however, she was quite sure there's nothing of value in that region but mostly because the prospectors that had been sent there returns with nothing so far but then again the desert realm and that of the caliphate is rather synonymous so Lady Iraa thought it natural that the Mille-Sessau would easily concede those areas.

She suddenly laughs lightly when the baron commented regarding the furs of his land that would keep her people warm in the cold desert night. "Oh, my apologies for the sudden outburst baron...", she said as she seems to let out a cough seemingly to stop her from laughing again, "...believe me, the night coldness is something that my people is looking forward to after a day's of hard work in scorching hot desert".

Lady Iraa then gestured for a scribe and the scribe responded by taking out another scroll which he gave her promptly. Lady Iraa unfurl the small scroll where it details the report of available resources ready to be traded in abundance and at the moment, the caliphate has plenty of gemstones for trade. "However, I am interested in this fine Sessauan steeds that your nation is offering baron, my nation had always rely on strong and powerful cavalry forces as the military engine of our nation".

"And as for what our nation might offer is the best in refined gemstones from the mines of the central desert, these untapped resource has been waiting for thousands of years due to the fact that no nation has so far been able to tamed the central desert before and now we have plenty of that resource for trading purpose", she said, as she flashed a piece of necklace hanging by her neck with a large ruby stone as its center piece surrounded by smaller sapphire stones, the product of Aremmian's jewel crafters.

" It may sound unfortunate but Mille Sessau already circulates gems through it's market from a kingdom to the north, the Empire of Ezria. However, I personally know that the Empress is not fond of the birdmen and I am sure I could help persuade them to stop the purchase of precious gems and began trading with you, although it would require some financial tinkering, hmm? In exchange, we could sell you upwards of some 6,000 Sessauan steeds to satiate your kingdoms hunger for mounts. "

"Ahh it is unfortunate then...", Lady Iraa hung her head low in disappointment at the news that Mille Sessau already has a trade relation with another nation that could provide them with gemstones, although Lady Iraa was sure that artisans of the Caliphate would do a better job of crafting jewels then this northern kingdom. Aside from the gemstone, Merenaz has nothing much to offer, there's probably much more resources hidden deep in the Aremian deserts but hundreds years of conflict had prevented the Merennians from discovering these natural resources.

In fact she was about to persuade the baron that the Merennians could produce a better quality gemstone than this northern kingdom of which the baron had spoke of when she was interrupted by the baron who told her that it would seem that the empress, the supreme ruler of Mille Sessau does not favor this northern kingdom and that the baron himself is willing to persuade the empress to end trade relation with that kingdom and instead opted to trade with the caliphate. Without a doubt this had bought a smile on Lady Iraa's lips as she began to see the prospects of continuing to stay on the baron's good side.

She bowed her head slightly at the baron and smiled, "then you shall have my-our endless gratitude, and believe me, your people would not be disappointed with the goods we have to offer, and as for the 'financial tinkering'...", Lady Iraa gestured to some of her guards where they in return bought a wooden chest from which they had carried along the journey here, "...we have it here". Within lies a few thousand gold coins as well as some recently crafted gemstones, it was a good call by Lady Iraa when she thought she might need some financial incentive to persuade the envoy of foreign nation.

The journey was long, although by no means arduous. The carriage was well insulated, and a heavy snow had beset the plains and forest of the empire. A light guard of chevaliers escorted the caravan that carried both Lady Iraa, her male esort and the elderly Count Anju of Val Avos. There were not many sights to see from Val Avos to the capital, but what sights there were Count Anju pointed out with must enthusiasm.

" Ah, the fiefdom of Baron Dechamps! Some two hundred acres worked by .. hrm, six hundred serfs I believe! He is away on duty in one of our colonies I believe. Young and bright man he is! "

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Jaudeaux,Capital of the Empire

It took two full days before the small entourage reached the bustling capital. Although literally two feet of snow had fallen on the ground, the markets were still aflutter with activity and a cheerful attitude was common. A single Sessauan without a huge fur overlay or cloak was a genuine rarity, and Lady Iraa and her own entourage were given complimentary furs to protect from the icy snow as they were led up the monumental palace steps to the Grand Palace of Sessau.

Blue and gold were the colors of choice for the huge tapestries and embellishments that decorated the hallways. Chevaliers, minor nobility of Sessau guarded only the grand hallway, but Iraa and her male counterpart were admitted with whatever weapons that had, the Empress had no fear being assassinated, but whether this was pride or ignorance remained to be seen. Count Anju led them forward across a golden rug that weaved a path all the way up to the throne in which the youthful and fair Empress resided. Her simple stature indicated beauty, and her features were fair and slender, the most prominent of which was her shining amber hair, long and curly.

" Bonjour, mes amis. " The Empress cooed, her voice similar to that of a child.

" .. And we bow. " Count Anju murmured, bowing forward and hoping that Lady Iraa and her counterpart would follow suit.

" I bring guests, Empress. They hail from the Great Desert to the West and would like to trade. "

After a day's rest, Lady Iraa and her entourage were asked to come to the capital of The Mille Sessau Empire and meet the empress herself. While feeling honored, she is also a bit unnerved by the fact that this is the her first diplomatic mission and as such the first diplomatic relations with foreign power outside of the caliphate. She had remembered what her brother told her before she sets out to the east and that was, she is going to be at the center of the massive change that will soon enveloped the caliphate, she is going to be the one to pave that way. Realizing that she knew she could not failed her brother, she could not failed her people.

The journey took some time and Lady Iraa was unused to the strange weather, it was cold and this is the first time she saw snows all over the place. Along the way she caught a cold and perhaps a slight fever but she refused to let it shown and definitely won't let it bogged her mission down. Lady Iraa nodded at the sight of the fiefdom in which the baron had pointed to outside, "fascinating...", that was the only word that would escape her mouth for her minds is elsewhere, thinking of how she is going to react and present herself to the empress.

Lady Iraa was fascinated with the new scenery, while the town where the baron had governed was small and dreary, to her, this was absolutely different. At last they have arrived at Jaudeaux, capital of the Mille Sessau Empire. It was a bustling city almost like Hadrallah, except that it isn't filled with sands and dust like the capital of the caliphate, instead the city was lively enough and vibrant despite the winter season. The entourage from the caliphate were however given complimentary fur coat and it does help with the cool temperature albeit not by much since the Aremids aren't used to this kind of climate.

Once they entered the royal palace, the baron introduces the fair lady in front of them, fair skin and her glossy amber hair only serves to enhance her beauty. Despite the empire she rules, the empress is rather of young age and Lady Iraa had to wonder how she coul cope up with such responsibility at such a young age. Per the Baron's instruction, they bowed to the empress and afterwards they immediately went to the trade table to discuss the deal.

After awhile, the delegates from Merenaz Caliphate finally anonymously agree to the terms of the trade deal, after all, the Caliphate desperately needed supply of the finest steeds to power their military engine. The part where the Sessauan empire is willing to let go some of the unclaimed territory to the south of the caliphate and west of the Sessauan empire further sweetens the deal after all who knows what natural resources they might found there.

"After some deliberations, you highness...", Lady Iraa looked back to the captain and the rest of the scribes for any last minute change of mind in their part before turning back to the empress, "...we have come to agree with this trade deal, it shall be in the best of our two nation's interests in maintaining this trade relation", she carved a smile across her lips, the changing of the caliphate's political climate begins here, she thought to herself.

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-The Merenaz Caliphate's delegation of envoys led by Lady Iraa agrees to the trade deal

" Excellent! Excellent! " The deal was concluded by a man who called himself Philip, Prince Philip. He was young and charismatic and seemed to burn with a fire that others in the room lacked. He handed the scroll of trade to the Lady Iraa and nodded. He placed a gracious hand aside her shoulder.

" We cannot express our gratitude in your coming. The Empress .. she was beginning to believe we were the only humans left after the Old Kingdoms. It is good to once again look upon friends without beaks or snouts. It is for this reason that the Empress extends her hand in alliance with the Merenaz Caliphate. A political alliance. We would protect eachother's citizens, allow free trade between our kingdom's smaller merchants, and allow the people of Aremia and the people of Sessau to travel freely between our great kingdoms. What say you to that, Lady Iraa? "

This was a bit too soon, Lady Iraa thought. Yes, a military and political alliance would do the caliphate good and so far, she had seen that the people of the empire are cultured, for one thing they worshiped a single deity, much like the Aremids does, and the Aremids are known to look down on other people who worshiped multitude of deities as uncivilized and unenlightened. Also the Empire of Mille Sessau seems to be a powerful force unto its own and their people seems to be honorable at least. However, to commit to an alliance is to commit to a long term relationship and Lady Iraa wasn't sure if she is qualified to give such judgment. Also, she was sure it was bad enough that her brother would initiate diplomatic relation with foreign powers but to ally the caliphate and accept this foreign power with open doors is something that even she thought would've gone too far.

The conservative faction of the Shura Council would surely use this as an ammunition to further destroy Khaleed's reputation and she wouldn't want that. After a great deal of time and looking back at the scribes and the captain of guards, she knew even they wouldn't agree to it, not now at least.

"I must say, it is a tempting offer Prince Philip...", she suddenly replied with a slight bow to the prince as a sign of respect, "...but unfortunately we cannot go that far yet, and please do not think that we figured you might not be a worthy ally to us, it is just that", again she look behind to the rest of her entourage, some of them had nodded, telling her to proceed with the explanation anyway. "My people are isolationists and they regard foreigners in disdain, this is the first time the Grand Caliph had given the consent to open our borders and he does that with a risk of terrible scrutiny from the ruling council elected to govern in his place", she took a deep breath for a moment before continuing, "the political situation in my nation is a bit...volatile currently as the concept of opening up borders to outside world is still new to us, which is why my brother the Grand Caliph would rather have our first trading partner as a human nation, but believe me, given time, my people will come to trusts yours and before long the ruling council of my nation would have to agree that this alliance will benefit us, but until then I must humbly reject the proposal"

In truth, she was also ill equipped when she first came here, often before initiating diplomatic relation, an ambassador must have the knowledge of the said faction, such as what benefits they hold for the people of Aremmia and what enemies would the caliphate had to contend with if they readily commit to this alliance, but she has none of those and has to play it safe by rejecting the proposal. "In the future, after a time of beneficial trade between our two nations and as my people became comfortable with yours, then I'm sure the people of the great desert themselves will come to you requesting an alliance between our two great nation".

" We understand your apprehension, Lady Iraa. We will escort you back to the border. A messenger has told us that we have established a new fiefdom along the river that separates our kingdoms. It will be an important centerpiece should you have any questions. I believe he is the son of a Viscount who serves under Count Anju, whom you already know. Please, should your .. king, wish to speak to us, you need only to send a rider across the river and they will carry the message from there! "

Lady Iraa was escorted from Jaudeaux, and via carriage would be taken westward from the capital back to Val Avos, than from Val Avos southwest to the Barony of von Deu, where from Maison de von Deu, the villa which was the unofficial capital of the Barony, would ride to the river, where the men-at-arms reported they had explicit instructions not to cross, though they would help Lady Iraa and her cohorts if they required it.